Scout
by WolfLuvr1977
Summary: AU. Legolas is sent on a scouting mission, but it doesn't go according to plan. Final Chapter now up! As always, please read and review!
1. Grave News

King Theoden looked around the hall. He began to notice, for the first time, the people in the room. There were his advisers, who of course poorly advised, his generals, whom he had the up most respect for. The Wizard Gandalf and the dwarf Gimli., who were arguing over the importance of alcohol. Aragorn, who at this point in time was cleaning the orc blood off of his sword. But then he noticed the quietest of Aragorn's friends. The elf from the realm of Mirkwood. His intense sky blue eyes were staring strait ahead. He was thinking, of what Theoden did not know. The elf's expressionless face gave nothing away. The king silently wondered how old the woodland being was, _He cannot be more than 25, he thought to himself. He had heard stories of elves and their immortality, but surely they cannot look young their whole life, however long it may be. _

Something caught Theoden's eye in the corner of the the room. A young man, a messenger most likely, urgently whispering something in one of his marshal's ear.

"What!" the marshal quietly exclaimed back at the man.

"Gromling?" Theoden became worried.

" One of our scouts sent a message."

"And?" Theoden asked, a little agitated.

"It tells of a troop of Urukai headed here, there were almost 5 leagues away…" Gromling now looked very serious, " …yesterday."

The King, surprised that orcs had gotten this close, discontinued his eye contact with the general. His breathing became more rapid as he looked about the room searching for a solution. He noticed the elf had come out of his thoughts and was now staring at him, waiting for an answer.

Theoden looked down, "What do you mean sent a message?" he asked, "Where is the scout?". Theoden looked at the young messenger, fearing the answer.

"This is the message sir." He held up a bloody piece of parchment with symbols from an illiterate author, "It was tied to his horse that returned a little while ago. We had to make sure of what it said before we could tell you."

Theoden took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Prepare the-"

"Theoden!" Aragorn interrupted, putting his perfectly clean sword back in its scabbard, "With all due respect, this is an opportunity to gain information."

"What do you mean?" The king was waiting to be enlightened.

"When you hunt Sauron's vermin for long enough you get to know how they work. Every night before they sleep, the leaders talk about the coming day for their troop…and others."

"We'll know Sauruman's move before he makes it." Theoden could see where the ranger was going.

"How do we know where the orcs are?" interrupted Gromling, "Let alone if they will be stopping for the night."

"If they know of your scout they will have quickened their pace. They should be 3 leagues from here by sundown." Aragorn quickly answered, "They have a big day ahead of them, so they will camp to regain their strength."

Theoden nodded in agreement, "Gromling, send out our best scout."

"Not even your best scout could get within listening distance of an orc encampment." bellowed Gandalf from across the room.

"Then who do you propose we send on this impossible mission?" asked Theoden, his patience was running thin with Aragorn and his friends.

"There is only one kind creature in Middle Earth that can complete this task as swifly and silently as possible." answered Aragorn. Theoden thought he knew the answer, but kept quiet just to be sure. He noticed Aragorn and his elven friend lock eyes. Legolas silently nodded and left the room to prepare.


	2. Through the Forest

It did not take Legolas long to prepare. All that he had in his possession when he rode Arod out of the gate was his bow, arrows in his quiver and his two white knives. Weapons were the only necessity on this trip, he needed nothing else to stay alive

Théoden had given Legolas two days to find out what he could about the orcs movement. After that he would lead his people to Helms Deep regardless of where they were headed. Legolas agreed with this, because should fall during this mission, they would be out of harms way if the orcs were planning on attacking the city.

The elf had to endure a long speech from Gimli, explaining to him why he should come with. But the dwarf was left disgruntled and without an answer when Legolas brought up the fact that the orcs could hear his vertically challenged friend's footsteps from half mile away. Not to mention the endless conversations he could have with himself.

Legolas left just before the sun ducked under the mountains. He rode hard through the night to Fangorn Forest. He pulled Arod to a stop just in front of the tree-line when the purple glow on the horizon announced the coming sun. Legolas lead his companion to a tree and tied him there. Arod whined a little, not wanting to be alone.

"Do not fret my friend." he said calmly, slowly rubbing the horse's muzzle, "I will return soon." With that Legolas cautiously entered the wall of trees. The air was still, but this was not the same atmosphere that Legolas had delved into the last time he had been in the forest. It felt more awake, almost hopeful. He scanned the forest floor and then the treetops. Flowers had started to emerge from the ground and buds were appearing on the branches of trees. This forest had definitely undergone some sort of change in between the periods in which he had been there.

Legolas' elven body allowed him to walk swiftly along the forest floor without so much as crunching a dead leaf. He walked quickly but did not run, careful to watch out for even the slightest movement. A few times he stopped dead still, seeing a deer or a wolf in the distance. His ears picked up every sound in a two mile radius. Birds chirped and hooves stomped on the soft ground. He went for hours without seeing anything out of the ordinary.

It was only in the late afternoon, the sun high above, piercing through gaps in between the canopy when Legolas found a sight very out of the ordinary. He had walked right into a clearing where the evidence of a battle littered the ground. Pools of blood surrounded the bodies of three Rohan soldiers. Intermixed in the clearing were the bodies of four Urukai. Legolas sighed sadly and said a lament for the soldiers, and silently cursed the abominations next to them. He scanned the scene for a moment, one of the soldiers was halfway in the tree line, blood covered his right pointer finger.

_The scout who sent the message, _he thought to himself. It was no wonder they were caught, bringing your horses with you on a scouting mission was like screaming 'Look at me, I'm right here'. Legolas smiled slightly and shook his head at this thought.

He considered burying the bodies or covering them, but he had no time. The sun was on its decent and the orcs would be settling down soon. Finding the battle field but not encountering the orcs yet was a sign that they hadn't moved far, if they had moved at all. Encountering the scouts probably scared them. They had lost their element of surprise and were probably strategizing or waiting for new orders.

"Perfect." Legolas said as he allowed a wide grin to cross his face. If the orcs _were strategizing, their conversations would be filled with information _There was no doubt in his mind that he would be able to find out all of the information that he needed tonight and be able to be back by morning.

The elf once again entered the seemingly endless sea of trees and this time was more alert. He opened up his mind to hear everything he could, weather it was 5 miles away or 5 feet. He scanned the forest more often investigating anything that moved. He needed to find their encampment as fast as possible. He was scared if he waited until too late they would trade in their conversations for sleep.

It was only about fifteen minutes when Legolas began picking up the fait conversation of rough voices. He stopped in his tracks to find out where the voices were coming from. As soon as he was sure, he headed east at a run, when he knew where he was going, he did not need to be so alert. The voices got louder and clearer as he got closer. He began picking up words such as "south" and "attack". He quickened his pace, but he was still gliding over leaves and branches without a sound.

Legolas slowed when he got close enough to hear every distinct sound from within the encampment. He knew their would be some of them on patrol and he would have to be very careful. Darkness was taking over the forest, he crouched down behind a small bush. He focused his mind in only on the surrounding half mile, and listened.


	3. Not a Good Sound

Legolas waited patiently for the two officers to get to the important part of their conversation. Most of it consisted of the food rationing and fights that have been breaking out in several of the camps. The elf hated their complaining. _While their arguing over how much food they have, they also plot to kill innocent women and children_, he thought to himself.

Finally, the soldiers started discussing the upcoming few days. Legolas listened very intently to every word spoken by the Urukai. Mostly the obvious;

"We should be in the city in the next day or two" said one.

"If we could get these lugs to pull their weight" said the other as he violently shoved another to the ground. The Uruk that fell had made another drop his bread, which of course caused a fight to erupt. Legolas did not realize how carefully he had been listening until the shouting of the Urukai turned into an unbearable screeching. The elf immediately backed off which caused him to miss part of the conversation.

During the interruption, another Urukai, not from this company, had run in from the south and had quickly explained something to one of the leaders. Legolas picked up bits and pieces but, because of the extra noise caused by the fight, he decided he should move closer to the camp. He quietly picked up his bow from the ground and moved forward slowly and quietly. Then, Legolas picked up on a small part of the conversation that changed his pace, "…Helm's Deep…".

_They know_, he thought to himself, _the king should have killed him when he had the chance. _Of course Legolas knew who had told Sarumon of King Theoden's alternative keep. He quickened his stride forward, keeping his focus on the conversation. He was only able to pick up "joining up with" and "thousands of the great lords Urukai" when a loud yell tore through his eardrum and caused him to cringe in pain, "Intruder!". Legolas looked to his right and an Urukai who had been on patrol was now running towards him. He took a quick look around to see the entire camp's eyes on either him or the Uruk running towards him. Knowing that he could not fight them all, Legolas quickly got to his feet and started running as swiftly as possible away from the camp.

The woodland prince flew past trees and was no longer focusing on anything other than getting as far away from the company of Urukai as possible. Legolas had just barely started to hear the footfalls of the Uruks fading when a tremendous pain ripped through his left shoulder. The force of the arrow caused him to stumble a bit, but he regained his balance by leaning onto a nearby tree. He could feel the cold metal that had ripped through his flesh and was now buried dangerously close to his heart. Blood started to soak the fabric of his green tunic around the wound.

Legolas pushed himself off of the tree with his right arm. He could hear the Urukai catching up. _I must get back_, he thought, _the King must know. With this thought, he began running again. He could feel the arrow moving and burying itself deeper, but he could not stop to take it out, he had to keep running. _

_Legolas had reached the clearing ,where the previous battle between Urukai and intruder, when he heard another arrow being fired at him. He dodged quickly to the left, but was unable to avoid snapping the part of the arrow that stuck out from his shoulder. The movement of the arrowhead caused so much pain that Legolas was brought to his knees. _

_He was now in center of the clearing, on his knees, in so much pain he was unable to see straight. He heard Sarumon's dark soldiers begin to circle around the clearing. The soft clanking of their metal warned him that he was surrounded now by 12 of them. Taking deep breaths, Legolas was able to push the pain as far back in his mind as possible (he now realized that all of those things that his father taught him when he was younger actually were useful). Slowly, he stood up, drew an arrow and placed it on his bow. He listened to the slightest movements of the now slowly moving Uruks, waiting for the first attack._


	4. Battle in the Clearing

With the pain in his shoulder now at the back of his mind Legolas readied himself to fight. He knew there was no place to run, he was completely surrounded.

At the sound of a snapping stick, Legolas turned 180 degrees and fired an arrow into the heart of one of the Urukai. This action stimulated the some of the other surrounding creatures to attack. Because, he close quarters of the situation, Legolas dropped his bow and pulled out his white knives from behind his back.

The first one came from his left. Through a series of motions he quickly dug one of his knives deep into its chest. The next two came from in from his right and left. They both swung their "poor excuses for weapons" in a motion to separate Legolas' head from his body. Instead, the elven prince ducked and they ended up decapitating each other. Three more came at him, two in front and one behind. He dealt with the one behind him first by swiftly slitting his throat. Just as the other two were coming in from behind him he stabbed both of his blades backwards and hit them both in the abdomen.

The battle continued like this for what seemed like hours. As soon as he had taken care of a few of them, more would take their place. However, the never ending stream of enemies did not get to the elf until there was only one last Urukai standing.

Legolas could see that this was one of the bigger Urukai, much like the one that killed Boromir. This one's movements were slow and deliberate, he knew what he was doing. Legolas never took his eyes off of this Urukai. At the precise moment the creature started to attack, he was ready. The Urukai's weapon came swinging towards him from his left. He blocked the blow with both of his knives and deflected it towards the ground. He then swung around and attempted to dig his blade into its neck but it had already moved. The Urukai's next blow was not a lethal one, but a very painful one for Legolas. The Urukai spun around and elbowed Legolas in his left shoulder, moving the arrow around in his flesh.

The pain that the young elf had pushed to the back of his mind returned with a vengeance. He had only experienced this much pain a few times in his long life. He cursed himself for feeling this much pain over so small an injury. The blood began to seep from the wound again at a steady flow. He stumbled a bit but was able to regain his balance as the Urukai stood by and watched the young elf suffer.

Taking advantage of his enemies amusement, Legolas quickly lunged forward and plunged his knife deep into the Urukai's side. The evil creature let out a yell as he felt the cold metal dig inside of his body. However this usually lethal blow did not have the same affect as it would have on a human.

Legolas saw that the Uruk wasn't going down. He let go of his white knife that was now in the Urukai's side and spun around to attempt to bury his other blade in its neck. The elf's shoulder wound made him slow and his opponent saw his lethal strike before it hit him. Legolas was knocked to the ground with the Urukai on top of them. The two enemies wrestled for a while, the white elven knife had been knocked out of its owner's hand and he was trying to get to it.

Finally Legolas' hand grasped the white handle of his knife and he kicked the Urukai off of him. Quickly he regained his footing at the same time as his opponent. However the elven prince now had adrenaline running through his veins and he was able to push himself to be fast despite his injury. Saurumon's minion didn't see the white knife that went all the way through his neck. He only felt the blood gurgling in his throat as he fell to the ground.

Legolas stood breathing heavily for a while, he had lost track of time. It felt that the battle had taken hours, however it was over in a matter of 15 minutes. Suddenly the adrenaline had lost its strength and the world began to spin around Legolas. He looked at his shoulder that was now streaked with red. He could have sworn he heard his name as he fell to his knees and let the darkness overtake him.


	5. The Elf and the Man

When Legolas awoke the following morning the first thing he noticed was the warmth and smell of a fire. He opened his eyes to see an open flame before him. He looked around and tried to sit up but the pain kept him on the ground.

"You should not take your injury so lightly my friend" he heard a familiar voice say in elvish. Aragorn's presence no doubt surprised him He looked through the fire and saw his friend.

"I do no take it lightly" Legolas returned in his native tongue, "I simply forgot". He said this weakly, but Aragorn could tell he was doing a lot better then he was the night before. He even questioned a few times if is elven friend would make it.

"You should be fine by tomorrow" he told Legolas, whom he could tell was trying to asses the damage the orcs arrow had done to him.

Something in Aragorn's words sparked the memories of the previous night, "We do not have until tomorrow" Legolas said gravely, "We must leave, now!"

As Legolas tried to stand on his own, he found it harder to do so then he thought. Aragorn stood and helped him to his feet, "What are you talking about?"

"The orcs know that Théoden is going to Helm's Deep" Legolas said remembering, "Saruman must have been told by Grimer"

Aragorn could not believe what he was hearing. If Legolas heard right, Théoden was walking into a trap. "We have to get to Théoden before Saruman does". Legolas nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps I should go alone" Aragorn said, thinking it may be the right thing.

Legolas smiled and shook his head, "But who will be there to protect you?" he said jokingly. Aragorn laughed.

Soon the fire had been put out and the men and elf were headed towards their horses. They ran for awhile until Aragorn forced Legolas to take a break. The elf refused to stop so they compromised by walking. Legolas found this an appropriate time to ask Aragorn why and how he was there.

"After the first day Théoden decided that he could not wait any longer " Aragorn started, "I asked him to wait just one more day to see if you returned with good news. But my words were no match to Théoden's stubbornness. They yesterday afternoon, but I came out here to find you. Lucky I did, you would have been dead if it weren't for me."

Legolas laughed at his friends self righteousness, "It's only fair considering the many times I have stood between you and death" Legolas mocked "And you still can't beat me in a race". As he said this Legolas broke into a run towards the horses. He did this mostly because of the severity of the situation and he felt that they should be making for Helm's Deep with all haste. But a small part of him also wanted to take Aragorn off of his pedestal. He could hear his human friends footfalls behind him. It took Aragorn a few seconds to emerge from the tree line after Legolas, but the two made it in swift time.

As Legolas mounted his horse he remembered his injured shoulder. Aragorn was right, it would be better by days end, but unfortunately it was not yet days end. The pain was great and reached all the way through his chest. Aragorn could see his friends discomfort but knew no matter what he said, he could not sway Legolas from coming.

Legolas took a deep breath and focused on pushing the pain to the back of his mind. He had to be able to have the task at hand in the forefront of his mind. All that mattered now was warning Théoden and his people. Once the elf had achieved in blocking out his pain, he set forth with his human friend to warn the people of Rohan of their coming enemies.


	6. The Warning

Ok, so, i know its been a while...like a really long while...like i started college in this whole long while that it took me to write the next chapter. anyway, i was inspired by a recent person who favorited my story to write more and so here it is. again, sorry it took so long...like a year and a half long... :/...anyway enjoy, please RandR :)

Aragorn and Legolas rode hard through the day and through the night. Théoden and the people of Rohan would be at least a full two days ahead of them by now and they had to be warned of the impending attack on the stronghold of Helm's Deep.

Aragorn constantly worried about his friend but knew that no matter how much pain he was in, Legolas would never acknowledge it to Aragorn. The two companions were both glad that they had such strong horses, if they hadn't been steeds of Rohan, they never would have brought Aragorn and Legolas this far.

Finally, at high noon on the second day of riding, the elf and the man saw them. Just over the peak of a large hill, they spotted the caravan of Theoden's people making their way to the refuge of Helm's Deep. Both Aragorn and Legolas stopped to view the sight as relief spread through their minds.

However their relief was quickly turned into fear as Legolas spotted an ambush on the horizon.

"What is it Legolas?" Aragorn asked, noticing his friend's fearful expression.

"Wargs" Legolas replied . The pair once again rode hard down the hill, their horses at a dangerously steep angle.

"Théoden!" cried Aragorn when they had reached the bottom of the hill, "Théoden!"

The king of Rohan was glad to see that Aragorn had returned however the tone in his voice concerned him. He immediately stopped his horse which caused the rest of the caravan to halt as well.

"My Lord," Aragorn said as he approached Théoden, "there is a band of Wargs approaching to the north."

The kings eyes widened with fear. Legolas ran past Aragorn trying to scout out the numbers. At least 50 wargs and their riders were coming to attack Théoden and his people. Below him he noticed Gromling and Hamma, his guards riding ahead. They had not yet heard news of the wargs and were putting themselves in danger. Théoden was about to call out for them when a warg rider jumped down on them from a behind a hill killing Hamma.

Théoden watched in horror as his trusted guard was brutally killed by the ugly beast. Before anyone had noticed he was even gone, Legolas ran to Gromling's aid, who had been trying to fight off his enemy. Legolas quickly fired at the warg and his rider killing them both. "A scout!" he called back to Aragorn as he pushed the riders body away from him.

"Wargs! We're under attack!" shouted Théoden in a desperate warning to his people. Panic ensued in the caravan and many people did not know what to do with themselves. Some stood in shock while others looked around for comfort from their families. "All riders to the head of the column!" shouted the king.

Gimli saw the other riders mount their horses and looked up at his own, that stood at least twice his height and knew he would never get onto it on his own. It took nearly everything he had to ask for help, so he didn't, he demanded it. "Get me up here, I'm a rider!" he yelled at a nearby guard. The small dwarf nearly fell off but managed to grab onto the horses reigns just in time. Soon he was riding to the crest of the hill to meet his elven friend, who had been shooting down wargs as they were coming into range.

Legolas could feel the pain in his shoulder more poignantly than ever. He had failed overcome it this time and with ever draw of his bow, it felt like the arrow was being shot into him all over again. He tried to push it to the back of his mind but he was so pre-occupied with shooting down the enemy that his attmepts failed. After he brought down his seventh target he was about to succumb to the pain when he noticed the pounding of hooves behind him; they were coming. Legolas gathered his strength and fired one last shot into the heart of a warg rider before swinging onto Arod in front of Gimli. There, with his best friend behind him, he felt safer than he had in days. He closed his eyes, blocked out the pain and focused on protecting his friends.

When he opened his eyes again the band 40 or so wargs and their riders were mere yards away. Every soldier in Theoden's line braced for the impact of the clashing armies and for the battle that was now before them.


	7. Leave the Dead

"You lie!" Legolas exclaimed sharply as he grabbed the armor of the dying orc in below him. As he did, the orc let out a small short chuckle before he choked on his own blood and finally lay silent.

Legolas let go of the dirty creature and looked him over. That's when he noticed a small silver glint in the orcs hand. Legolas took the small object in his own palm and his heart sunk when he realized what he had recovered. When he saw the Evenstar pendant glittering against his skin he knew the orc, filthy as he was, told the truth.

The elf looked up from the pendant and ran over to the edge of the cliff next to Théoden. Looking down into the rough rapids and churning waters below, Legolas knew that no man could survive the river. He didn't want to believe it, and in his heart he knew that he shouldn't, but how could he deny it; Aragorn was dead.

He stared at the white rapids for what seemed like hours when his thoughts were broken by Theoden's words: "Leave the dead". He looked up at Théoden with disbelief. He wanted to tell him that he must have respected Aragorn enough to find him and give him a proper burial. He wanted to tell him that Aragorn was his friend and that they could not just leave him where he lay without a second thought. But no words could escape his lips, for after 87 long years, his best friend was simply gone.

Legolas finally summoned the courage to speak after Théoden placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "They're coming" he said grimly.

"Who?" asked Théoden. He had never spoken directly to the elf before so he wondered if he was always this cryptic.

"The orcs." Legolas continued, "They're coming to Helm's Deep".

Théoden was shocked to hear this. He had told no one of their plans to flee to Helm's Deep until he announced it to the town not three days before. "How do they know of our plans?"

"Grima," Legolas could picture the slimy creature in his head, "he must have predicted you would travel to Helm's Deep and informed Sarumon."

The King felt foolish for not thinking of this. "How far away are they? What are their numbers?" He could feel himself start to panic.

Legolas shook his head, "I do not know" He felt like he had failed his mission. Even though they knew orcs were headed to Helm's Deep, if they did not know when or how many they would surely be defeated.

It was when Theoden's eyes began to wander for answers that he noticed the blood on the elf's tunic. Suddenly a realization hit him, "You were attacked."

Legolas nodded slightly, not really wanting to talk about what happened in the woods. Aragorn had saved his life, and he couldn't even return the favor. But he couldn't think about his lost friend now, he had to focus on the present moment.

Théoden could see that the elf was not in the mood to discuss the past days events. He didn't want to ask him to go on another mission, but with the lives of his people in danger and the number of his army dwindling, he had no choice, "I do not wish to place a new burden on your already heavy heart but I need to ask a favor of you". The king went on as Legolas stayed silent, "I need you to find this armada of orcs and report back their location and numbers".

"Is that a request," asked Legolas, "or an order?" Théoden began to speak but before words could escape his mouth Legolas had turned and headed towards his horse. Gimli was left standing next to the King, whom he quickly apologized to, and ran after his friend.

The dwarf tried his hardest to talk to him, but Legolas would not listen. "How am I supposed to get up there?" he asked as the elf mounted Arod.

"You're not coming with me" Legolas said frankly.

"Oh I'm not am I?" the dwarf retorted without the usual playfulness in his tone, "And why would that be?"

Legolas took a deep breath before saying his next words. "Because you will only slow me down" he said. When he saw the hurt expression of Gimli's face he had to look away.

"You aren't the only one who lost a friend you know" Gimli said softly. Legolas looked down, ashamed that he had not thought of how his friend might feel about losing Aragorn.

"I shall not be two days" was all he said before riding off the same direction it seemed he had just come. As Arod sprinted at his command, he could only think of how his human friend had just saved his life, and now he was gone forever. As he thought of this he could no longer bear to accept Theoden's decision to leave Aragorn for dead. When he disappeared behind a hill, out of sight of Théoden and his men, he abruptly stopped Arod, who reared up in surprise at the sudden change in momentum. Legolas then turned around and headed for the river.


	8. In the Dark of Night

Aragorn woke with a start. As he opened his eyes he slowly realized that he was in a very unfamiliar forest. Every muscle ached in his body and as he tried to push himself to his feet his head spun and forced him back to the ground. He took a few deep breaths and tried to remember what had happened to him. He could see the warg and its rider and he remembered the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach when he and the creature fell over the edge of the cliff. A shiver went through his body and he realized that his clothes were soaked with water. But he did not remember any forest near this particular river.

Finally he had gathered himself enough to stand up, that's when he noticed the sky. A black velvet canvas stretched over his head, eerily dark with a strange lack of stars. The moon shone bright above his head casting shadows all round the clearing where he stood in the forest.

The night sky was not the only strange thing about that place. There were no sounds coming from the immense sea of trees. Even for the time of night, he would have at least expected the sound of an owl or creatures of the night moving amongst them. But nothing of that sort reached his ears where he stood.

Aragorn was contemplating this silence when his thoughts were interrupted by a movement from inside the forest. He saw it out of the corner of his eye and quickly spun around drawing his sword. He could see the outline of a figure coming towards him. The silhouette resembled a tall man of strong build. "Who goes there?" he called.

The figure stayed silent, slowly walking closer and closer towards the light of the moon. Aragorn became nervous, which is not something that usually happened to him. His cold hands could not grip his sword as tightly as he would have liked and being in this unfamiliar place didn't help calm his nerves. The ranger solidified his stance as the stranger entered the clearing.

As the light shown on the outline of the man Aragorn could see it was not a man at all, "Mellon?" Aragorn asked surprised, his elven friend was the last one he would have expected to see here.

"Were you expecting someone else?" the elf replied, his face still in the shadows. His voice sounded deeper than usual, Aragorn concluded that it was because he had a long day of searching for him and for that he was grateful.

Aragorn wanted to embrace his friend but something held him back. "How did you find me here?" he asked.

"Does that matter?" Legolas replied. His voice sounded distant and cold. The lack of humor in his tone made Aragorn uneasy. He kept his ground, sensing that something here was not right. In the dark he could only see the light glinting off of the elf's blonde hair and could just make out the features of his face.

"What ails you my friend?" he asked. Legolas stayed silent and for a moment Aragorn thought he saw a crooked grin on his elven companions face. This caused the man to take a slight step backwards and as he did this Legolas walked into the light.

Aragorn could now see what was different about his longtime friend. The elf's bright blue eyes had been replaced by ones black as coal, and his once friendly demeanor was replaced by one of pure evil. Aragorn's breath was stolen away from him at the sight of this.

"What happened to you?" he breathed.

"You couldn't defeat him" Legolas said coldly, "You failed." Aragorn raised his sword as Legolas came further towards him.

"What do you speak of?"

"You alone are responsible for the destruction of middle earth," the elf continued, "Because you could not defeat Sauron."

Aragorn had no words left, his breathing became heavy and he was more aware of the weight on him then ever before. He dropped his sword and watched it fall to the ground. That is when he noticed them. The rest of the fellowship closing in on him, all with the same black eyes, all with the same evil in their hearts. His heart was felled when he saw the once friendly and peaceful hobbits possessed by the same evil that they had been ignorant of in the shelter of the Shire not a few months before.

"Sauron did this to you" he said, facing Legolas again, who was now less than an arms length in front of him. He was no longer able to control his breathing and he almost had to gasp for air. His body was paralyzed as Legolas moved closer towards him.

"Sauron made us stronger," Legolas said, "So that we may carry out his will"

Aragorn's breath was stolen from him as cold metal pierced his flesh. He looked down to see Legolas gripping the elvish white knife, burying it deep into his side. As Aragorn looked up Legolas' eyes were no longer black, but filled with the fire of Sauron's eye. "I'm sorry" he breathed as his world became dark.

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Aragorn gasped when he woke beside the river. Reality slowly made its way back to him when he heard the rushing of the water and the chirping of the birds overhead. Everything about his dream, or rather his nightmare, seemed so real and some of the dream had even followed him to reality.

His clothes, of course, were soaked with water. He also found it hard to breath because of a pain that was ripping through his side. But the most outstanding thing that stayed with him was a feeling of utter hopelessness. His dream had made him realize that Sauron had more power than he ever feared and should he fail, there will be no future for middle earth.

His heart sunk in his chest at the thought of this. Was all hope lost? Would he indeed fail the people of middle earth, leaving them to be slaves to the will of Sauron?

As he pondered his bleak future, Brego, the horse he had once ordered to be set free, decided to return to the one man who seemed to truly understand his spirit. Aragorn felt his equine friend nudge him and for as much physical and emotional pain he was in he welcomed the gesture. When he realized that this was the same horse that he had watched run freely towards the sunset a few days before a small shining glitter of the hope he had just lost, made its way back to him. For he was comforted by the fact that a creature he had once thought never to see again, would come to his aid unrequested.

However, this comforting notion was broken when he remembered Théoden and the impending battle that the King and his people were now facing. Slowly he mounted Brego and began riding to Helm's Deep and to his destiny.


	9. Unexpected Findings

so this took me a while because i was having problems with the timeline of events but after a lot of thought and many sticky notes I figured it out. Its a bit longer than usual but i hope u enjoy it just the same. and a always, please please pleas RnR!

Legolas intently searched every inch of the riverside for hours. He investigated every disturbance in the river rocks that lay on the rivers edge. He moved further and further west, taking himself farther away from Helm's Deep by the hour. However, the elf was not thinking of Théoden and the task that he bid him do. His only concern was finding Aragorn and paying the debt that he owed him; Aragorn had saved his life, now Legolas must save his.

Finally, 5 hours of searching had passed and everything Legolas found lead to a dead end. He was now at least a full day's ride from Helm's Deep and he still had to find the Uruk army. He kept hearing Aragorn in his head telling him that he must fulfill his mission, he must protect the people of Rohan. But Legolas would not listen. His desire to find his friend seemed to block everything else out.

After pursuing a trail that lead to a small band of wild horses the elf let out a long breath. Slowly he turned to face the river and gazed upon the rough, churning waters. His heart started to pound in his chest. Was Aragorn really dead, taken by the river to a place where Legolas could not find him? This thought brought him to his knees. He never had the chance to say goodbye or to say he was thankful to have him as a friend. A feeling overtook his mind that he had not experienced in hundreds of years; true and unadulterated sadness. He had been on this earth nearly 3000 years and he had only felt this helpless and this lost once before. He did not welcome the hot tears that formed in his eyes. He bowed his head in defeat and began to listen to Aragorn's voice.

If he could not save Aragorn, he would do his best to save his people. Legolas took a deep breath and rose to his feet. He looked over his shoulder to the setting sun, closing his eyes, he said a lament for his friend. He walked back down to the riverside and just as he was about to mount Arod he noticed a deep well in some river rocks close by. As he walked closer, he could make out the outline of a man. Further still, he could depict hoof prints nearby. He did not notice any footprints however. Legolas' heart began to pound again, only this time it was for excitement. Had Aragorn survived the treacherous river? Had, by some miracle, he found a horse and started making his way back to Helm's Deep? Or was this evidence of some one else? So many questions were going through Legolas' mind but one thought stuck out among them all; Aragorn may still be alive.

However, no matter how joyous this notion was, Legolas still had to find the army sent to destroy the people of Rohan. A thought ripped through him; the army could already be at Helm's Deep. Théoden and his people could already be under attack. Legolas couldn't believe he had delayed his task so long. He knew, whether he be alive or dead, Aragorn would tell Legolas to complete his mission. Quickly, the elf made his way north with Arod, and with the new glimmer of hope now within him.

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Legolas rode at a swift pace through the night. The hilly terrain made it difficult for him to see very far off. But at about sunrise he spotted a very large hill, tall enough that the would be able to see far and wide across the plains of Rohan. He reached it in about an hour and left Arod at the bottom to rest while he made his way to the top.

He saw them immediately. His elven eyesight reached miles and miles across the land to the black legion that was now approaching Helm's Deep. Although he couldn't see each individual orcs, he could see that there was at least 10,000 in the caravan. Legolas' eyes widened in disbelief. Even with all of the men of Rohan at arms they would be no match for Sarumon's monsters. _If only Aragorn were here to see this_, he thought to himself.

Finally, he brought himself out of his own thoughts and sprinted down the hill. Arod had had only a few moments to rest but Legolas needed him now more than ever. In his native tongue, Legolas spoke words of encouragement to the horse before they sped off towards Helm's Deep, faster than either of them had ever gone before.

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Aragorn approached Helm's Deep at a very slow pace. Every muscle in his body ached and he could barely keep his head up. Any extra movement that he made was met with more pain. Brego seemed to understand this and never went faster than a quick walk.

Aragorn was surprised by the way he barely had to steer Brego, he seemed to know exactly where they were going and how to get there. Back in Edoras, where this horse was treated like a common creature, Aragorn noticed that there was definitely something special about him. He recognized that he had seen war, perhaps too much of it, so why would Brego willingly turn in a free life for the almost inevitable chance of going back into battle by helping him? This gave Aragorn a little flicker of hope; if a horse was willing to stand by him, perhaps the men of Middle Earth would too.

Aragorn's dream still haunted him. The images of the fellowship, his friends, possessed by the pure evil of Sauron shook him to his very core. How could he even ponder leading a Kingdom when these thoughts stood at the forefront of his mind. He now longed more that ever to see Legolas and Gimli, in their true forms.

Aragorn was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even realized when the sun dipped below the horizon. Brego kept riding through the night, stopping only to get a drink from a small stream along the path. Baskets, blankets, and other various objects were dispersed along the plains, no doubt left behind by the people in Theoden's caravan who realized they had brought too much. As Aragorn contemplated this his eyes grew very heavy and eventually he let them close, knowing that he could trust Brego to get them both to Helm's Deep safely.

That night, Aragorn dreamt of his beloved Arwen. Seeing her helped him sleep soundly through the night, but reminded him of how he had lost the gift she had given him. The Evenstar pendant was no longer in its usual place around his neck, and Aragorn felt its loss greatly. He felt as if losing it had distanced him from Arwen, and his heart grew heavy with this thought.

When he woke to the rising sun he realized that sleeping on a moving horse did not bode well for his already aching body. When he looked up to see the sunrise, pain shot down his back, however, he managed to ride for quite a while longer.

It was about midday when Brego stopped for a drink and Aragorn decided to dismount and walk around to regain some of his strength. He soon found that this was not as easy of a task as he had thought, but soon the stiffness in his muscles began to subside. Eventually he knelt by the stream and drew some water with his hands to wet his face. He let out a breath and sat for a while in the sunlight. It was then that he noticed a large gash on the upper part of his left arm. It didn't hurt, but he would definitely get an earful about it from Legolas. The elf had always been protective of him, just as he was with all of his friends, but with an impending orc battle he wouldn't have much time to tend to it. Aragorn's heart dropped. He had completely forgotten about the Saurmon's army. Théoden could have been in the midst of battle at that very moment. Or the battle could be over and all of Rohan, including Legolas and Gimli, slain.

Aragorn quickly stood up and was about to mount Brego when he noticed something coming towards him. He could just barely make out the outline to be that of an horse and rider.

Of course Legolas had seen Aragorn from a good distance away. He had changed his direction slightly so that he could meet up with him. The smile that spread across his face and had not subsided since. He couldn't remember ever feeling so relieved in his extraordinarily long life, even with the orc army behind him. He knew that with Aragorn leading them, the men of Rohan had hope. When he had gotten a great deal closer, he took his bow from his back and fired an arrow in Aragorn's direction.

Aragorn had not moved since he first saw noticed the figure. However, when an arrow landed at his feet he took a few quick steps back. He pulled the arrow out of the ground and when he ran his fingers over the familiar golden feathers on the end he couldn't help but smile. He looked up and could now make out the white coat of the horse and Legolas' green tunic.

Finally, the elf jumped the stream that stood between himself and Aragorn and swiftly dismounted Arod. When he turned around, Aragorn was waiting for him, "_You're late_."

Legolas quickly looked over Aragorn and noticed his overall disheveled appearance, "You looked terrible." he said with a grin. The two friends laughed as they stepped forward to embrace each other. When they stepped back, Aragorn noticed Legolas holding something out in his hand. He looked at the elf's outstretched palm and there lay the Evenstar pendant. He immediately felt the burden on his heart lift and when he grasped the metal in his hands he could feel that Arwen was again with him. "Hannon le." he said sincerely.

Legolas was happy to return Arwen's pendant but the seriousness of the approaching army seemed to catch up with him. "We cannot linger, " he said returning to Arod. Aragorn looked up at him, he was taken aback by his sudden need for urgency. The elf mounted his horse and continued "An army of 10,000 orcs marches on Helm's Deep, they will be there by nightfall."

Suddenly, Aragorn lost all sense of relief and his mind now raced with thoughts of war. He couldn't imagine what an army of 10,000 orcs looked like, let alone how he would be able to defeat them with the meager numbers of Theoden's forces. Sarumon obviously was not willing to let any man, woman or child see the dawn of the next day in Helm's Deep.

Within seconds, the two riders were heading west with all haste both knowing that the fate of Theoden's people depended on them, both knowing that this could be the night when everything ends.


	10. Return of the Missing

The quick hoof falls of the horses mimicked the heart beats of their riders as they made their way across the barren plains of Rohan. 10,000 orcs now stood between the people of Rohan and the next sunrise and they remained oblivious.

After about an hour Legolas could see the walls of Helm's Deep and they arrived at the gate soon after. Both were greeted with gasps and surprised stares. Few people had seen Legolas return from his scouting mission, and all had heard of Aragorn's supposed demise. None expected to see either of them again. But there was one there to greet them at the courtyard who was especially overjoyed.

Gimli had fluctuated between anger and despair many times in the days past. He had experienced what this journey would be like without Aragorn and Legolas; humorless, empty and lonely. He had found true friendship with them, and after the loss of his cousin, that was exactly what he needed.

Both the elf and the man dismounted their horses. Aragorn was immediately greeted by an extremely excited Gimli and received a very firm embrace from his dwarf friend. Aragorn would have been more enthusiastic about the reunion but he had to tell Théoden of the army now marching on them.

"Where is the King?" he asked anxiously. Gimli gestured towards the throne room at the top of the keep. Aragorn turned to Legolas who gave him a nod to go ahead without him. The ranger left Legolas and Gimli in the square along with the onlookers and gossipers that filled the elf's ears with theories, conspiracies and other nonsense. But Legolas was not concerned with them.

As he looked down at his companion he could see the tinge of anger in his eyes. After all, Legolas had abandoned him without so much as a friendly word. Gimli could see the regret in the elf's ice blue eyes, however he was truly hurt by his blatant refusal to allow him to accompany him in his search for Aragorn.

"I am sorry for leaving you." Legolas said, after a long while of studying Gimli's stern face.

"You know, as a young lad, I couldn't even begin to imagine traveling all the way across Middle Earth with an elf." Gimli said disdainfully, his tone both surprised and confused Legolas, "But these past several days have showed me that trying to travel across Middle Earth without one would be the most dangerous decision I could make."

Legolas gave a small smile in response to Gimli's words. To any other elf this would mean nothing, he knew in his heart, however, the true meaning of his friend's words.

"But listen closely laddie," Gimli said sternly, "The next time you tell me I'm going to slow you down, ya best be runnin the other direction when you say it." Legolas, still smiling, bowed his head to his friend in understanding. It did not take much for either of them to forgive each other and soon the unlikely friendship was back to it's unusual dynamic.

"Come," Legolas said finally, bringing them back to the present moment, "There is something you need to know."

The elf and the dwarf made their way up to the throne room. Legolas quickly went through the series of events that had just passed. They entered through the large double doors just as Aragorn was telling Théoden about the army.

"A great host you say?" the King asked quizzically, "How many?"

Aragorn looked at Legolas, who nodded to him, not wanting to be the one to explain the dire situation,"10,000 strong at least".

"10,000?" Théoden was awestruck. In all of his years he had never seen an army more than half that size, "You saw this?"

Legolas looked up from where he stood behind Aragorn, "Yes".

"And in all of your years, have you ever witnessed anything like it?"

The elf was not sure of the King's motive behind this question. He hesitated before answering, looking to Aragorn for some sort of indicator as to how he should reply. Aragorn gave nothing away except for the worry in his eyes. "Never," he said finally.

This answer did not give Théoden any comfort. He now had more questions than ever; how many men would he be able to put at arms? How well trained are these soldiers of Isenguard? When will they get here? Why were they coming?

"It is an army bred for a single purpose," Aragorn said after seeing the King try to process all of the thoughts in his head, "To destroy the world of men. They will be here nightfall."

Théoden's heart began to race. He could not stop them, and he had nowhere to run. It was fight or die, and Théoden certainly was not planning on dying tonight.

"Let them come."


	11. Hope is Kindled

Legolas could feel the anger burning inside of him. How could Aragorn be so ignorant; of course these men would die. There was no hope for them against Sauron's army. He looked around him at the dirty faces of the old men and the young boys who stared at him with fearful eyes. He pulled out of Gimli's grip and retreated out the back door.

After walking around the keep, trying to clear his head, Legolas found an open area with nothing around but a few crates. He sat himself down on one of them, rested his head in his hands and sighed. He had not realized how exhausted he was until now. Earlier he had told Aragorn to rest, but perhaps he needed to as well.

He could not remember the last time he was on edge like this. He had never argued with Aragorn before, but seeing the faces of Théoden's "soldiers" had set him off. After a while of listening to the sounds of his own breathing, his hands, which had been shaking in either anger or fear (or a combination of both), were finally still. He looked up, surprised to see the world was just as dark with his eyes open. If there was anything Legolas feared, it was darkness engulfing the world he knew and surrounding him and those he loved with death and destruction.

He sighed, knowing he was not alone in this fear. How could he be so ignorant? Of course he didn't want Sauron's darkness to cover the land, no one in Helm's Deep did. That's why they had to fight, it was not about winning. They still have hope left, hope that they can bring light back to Middle Earth. If they did not fight, their hope would die; and their families along with it.

But where was his hope? Where was the fire burning inside him, urging him to go on, pressing him to continue with this strenuous journey across Middle Earth? Was it in his friends? Was it back home, in Mirkwood? Did it even exist?

Legolas furrowed his brow and shook his head, leaning back against the cold stone wall behind him. When he did this however he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He sneered and quickly sat up, grabbing his shoulder. He had forgotten all about his battle with the orcs and his injury. He had forgotten all about Aragorn going out of his way to find him and save his life. Only a truly great man would do such a thing.

He couldn't believe, that after all he and Aragorn had been through, he would doubt him in such a trying time as this. He scoffed at himself, thinking of the words he had exchanged with his friend only moments before. "They are all going to die" he had said. Aragorn had never willingly let anyone die on his watch nor had he willingly sacrificed anyone for the sake of himself or others. He would not start now, and certainly not with an army of 300 men. If these men die here, it was not because they were making a hopeless last stand, or because they thought it was die here or die there. They fight because Aragorn lights the fire within their hearts that tells them that they can defeat Sarumon's army.

Legolas stood at this thought and began to pace around the small courtyard. Aragorn was a powerful man, even though he may not know it. He has a way of bringing people to their feet and making them believe that they can be more then they believe to be. Before joining him on this journey, Legolas thought he was doomed to sail to the undying lands while Middle Earth crumbled under the force of Sauron and the Ring.

He had been warned about the call of the sea. It was one call he did not intend on answering. That was the last thing he wanted, especially now. He could not abandon the races of Middle Earth- he could not run away. But was it pride or hope that made him stay? He heaved a sigh and leaned against the stone with his good arm. This was not the time to be doubting himself, nor was it the time for Aragorn to be doubting his own leadership. He had to speak with Aragorn.

The elf was about to leave the courtyard when he noticed a shadow in the archway ahead of him. He stopped in his tracks and the figure came out of the darkness. The kings golden hair shone in the moonlight as he approached Legolas.

"I heard what you said in the armory," he said quietly, "I did not understand your words but I understood your intent. You think there is no hope."

Legolas stayed silent, he could not lie. He did not know if he did have any hope and telling the King this would only hurt him.

"How old are you master elf?" Théoden asked, the curiosity clear on his features.

"I was born shortly after Sauron's defeat by Isildur." the elf answer truthfully. He saw the surprise in Théoden's eyes but the King kept the rest of his face quite still.

"And in your nearly 3,000 years of life, have you ever seen an army of 300 overcome one of 10,000?" His eyes were shooting straight into Legolas'.

"No," the elf said, causing the King's eyes to fall, "But no army I have ever been with or fought against has ever had Aragorn standing with them."

"What can he do for a poor army such as this?"

"He already has done something. He has given them strength and a reason to fight. He shows them that he believes in them. You were in the armory, but you did not show your face. How do you expect your own soldiers to follow you when you are too scared to face them before battle? Aragorn has faced them. He has spoken with them, he treats them as equals. He is willing to fight alongside them, rather than up on a tower watching. Tonight he fights as one of them, and if he dies then he dies as one of them." Legolas stepped closer, now inches from the King, "As do I." With that the elf swiftly left the courtyard, leaving Théoden to ponder his standing as king.

The elven prince made his way through corridors, around pillars and groups of men. He passed hundreds of fearful faces but he did not look at them. He was finally ready for battle and seeing them would only diminish his mood. He walked fast, but was careful not to bump anyone, the last thing he wanted was for the tension felt by the men to culminate into a brawl.

Finally he made it to the main hall. He looked around, searching for Aragorn or Gimli, but to no avail. He stayed a few minutes longer hoping one of them would show up but they did not. He turned to leave when he spotted Gromling standing close by.

He approached Théoden's close friend. "Where is Aragon?" he asked, much to the surprise of the soldier who still had not seen Legolas since his return. He had believed him dead until now.

"Last I saw he headed into that room down there," he pointed to a staircase on the other side of the room that led down into a storage area. Legolas quickly headed to the passage way, leaving the stunned soldier behind.

Aragorn had been contemplating Legolas' words for what seemed like hours now. Was there any hope? Where they all going to die? Aragorn had noticed his friend's recent downheartedness and he could understand it. He had been on this earth for many years, but not as many as Legolas. He had seen so much death and destruction in his 3000 years of life. How was this any different?

Legolas had once been nearly destroyed because of false hope, so he could understand his reluctance to have any now. _That_ was one look he never wanted to see in his friend's eyes ever again.

Aragorn stopped himself, he couldn't think about this now. He had a job to do, Legolas may not have much hope but he did and he had to show the men of Rohan that they could hope too. He started to dress himself for battle.

Legolas descended the stairs and could hear some things being moved around. He figured Aragorn was preparing himself for the coming battle. He got to the bottom of the stairs and watched his human friend fit his belt around his waist. He stepped forward, picked up Aragorn's sword and held it out to him.

Aragorn noticed Legolas and he couldn't help but smile. "You have brought us this far and have not led us astray," his elven friend said, the remorse clear on his face, "Forgive me, I was wrong to despair."

Aragorn placed a reassuring hand on Legolas' shoulder, "There is nothing to forgive." he said in his friend's native tongue, knowing it would bring him some comfort. Legolas realized at Aragorn's touch that his shoulder was no longer in pain, as if mending his friendship had also mended his wounds.

At that moment, Gimli walked in donning chain mail that was clearly made for a man twice his height and half of his width. The three friends shared a light hearted moment together before a horn sounded in the distance, and the fire that had not yet been kindled in Legolas ignited with all of its strength.


End file.
